So, GEICO hired him 3 years in a row to write commercials for them to play at their annual conference.  All of the actors in the video are actual GEICO employees but they’re not the ones really doing the vocals. Since there are so many different people in each video, he needed multiple singers to come into his studio and sing the vocals that he wrote.  He asked me to be a part of it and since I’m obsessed with being in studios…I obviously said yes.  Warren Buffett (one of the richest guys on the planet) owns most of GEICO so even he makes an appearance in all of their videos to sing/dance and it’s a trip.

I didn’t write any of these tunes but you might recognize my vocals here and there throughout.  Check em out!

I’ve tried the vegetarian thing before, for about a year, and ate no meat/chicken and tried to eat as healthy as possible.  I definitely had some moments of weakness throughout that year but I still noticed a profound difference.  The more that I practice yoga, the more aware I am of what’s going on internally and I definitely noticed some truth to the saying, “you are what you eat”. When I eat less crap and more foods that have actual nutritional value…I feel great and have more consistent energy that lasts throughout the day.  The older I get, the more important this all is to me.  I think everyone’s body is different but when I eat meat and processed foods, I definitely feel more sluggish and tired (not to mention gain more weight).  Also, if you ever watch “Meet your Meat” or “Earthlings” on youtube, you’ll see the truth about what happens to animals every minute of every day in order for companies to keep up with the crazy demand in the world for meat and dairy (it’s seriously disturbing).  Most of us don’t want to know but once you see it, it’s pretty tough to not have it enter your consciousness when eating a burger or a steak.  So, for as much as I love ALL food (including junk food, steaks/burgers/chicken, ice cream, etc)….I’m committing to eating a vegan/raw diet for 1 month to see how it all goes.  I figure this could be a good opportunity to get creative and try out some healthy, fun, tasty new ways to eat and prepare food so that the next month is fun & exciting as opposed to being lame and tough.

Friends and family have asked me to keep them updated so, since today is Day #1, I’m going to start this blog and update it with what I’m eating and my thoughts on it all.  Hopefully it’ll help keep me focused on the goal too!

April 2nd, 2012 (start date)

Day #1 –  this morning I ate a banana, took a bunch of vitamins, went to 6AM yoga , and had a few of “Annie Chuns Sesame Seaweed Snacks” (restores the salt in the body after a sweaty Bikram class).  For lunch, I went to whole foods and ate nothing but veggies.  So far, I’m feeling good, not too sluggish.  I’m definitely craving a milk shake for some reason though.  lol.  Tonight, I’m going to run with my new puppy, do some light lifting and sit ups, then use my juicer to juice a bunch of fruits/veggies.  Word.

Day #2 – this morning I took a bunch of vitamins and made a “green machine” smoothie for breakfast (banana, pineapple, kale, spinach, OJ, whey protein, flax seed, etc).  It’s the tits and a great way to start the day!  Also, did a noon Bikram Yoga class and had a G-Snap Juice from Robeks (carrot, orange, ginger) on my way back to work.  This is all WAY less than I’m used to eating but I surprisingly feel ridiculously awesome.  Not sure if it’s the yoga or the food but I’m diggin it.  For dinner, had a salad and juiced orange, apple, lemon, spinach.  I used too much lemon but it wasn’t bad.  Still have some cravings for french fries and pizza but it comes & goes.  lol.

Day #3 - Had vitamins and a Robeks smoothie this morning.  My bed was extra comfy so I slept through yoga and went running and did a bunch of pushups & sit ups at night instead when I got home.   For lunch, I had a vegan soup & sandwich at a place called Jason’s Deli in Tyson’s.  It was a grilled zucchini sandwhich and veggie soup. At first glance on the menu, it seemed like the most boring thing on the menu but it was probably the tastiest thing I’ve ever had there.  I’m realizing that there’s a weird & immediate wall I put between myself and “healthy food” – at times.  As if when it’s too healthy…then it’s weird and probably drab and lame.  So not true.  I was craving a milkshake the other day so my friend Linda in Austin TX (who counsels hundreds, if not thousands, of people on living/eating well) told me about a great recipe for a chocolate shake that was actually healthy and had no dairy or anything else questionable in it.  It was AMAZING.  So I had that, some nuts, and I grilled 2 portobello mushrooms for dinner.  I marinated them with minced garlic, soy sauce, onion powder, and pepper.  Tasted like steak.  So good.  Now, I’m the kinda guy who orders two appetizers, a main entree, and dessert when I eat out so this is all VERY different to eat this little amount of food (and eating this healthy).  So far, it’s not hard at all and I feel awesome!!!

Day #4 - I feel good.  Real good.  For breakfast, I had that same chocolate/banana shake that I tried out last night…and a few chunks of pineapple and some nuts.  Tons of energy this morning.  Did a noon Bikram yoga class and for some reason, I was super strong in there.  Total focus and energy.  This diet really isn’t as hard as I thought it would be (so far).  For dinner, I stir fried a bunch of veggies with soy sauce, garlic and this asian black bean sauce – on top of rice.  So good.  Didn’t even miss having the chicken in there.

Day #5 - So, my neighbor got me hammered last night.  The guy and his girlfriend throw down and they have a fun house and they force me to drink with them.  Damn peer pressure.  lol.  That kinda threw me off so now I know that I need to chill on drinking during this detox.  Anyway, besides that, I made pancakes this morning with some organic pancake mix.  You don’t use egg or milk.  The pancakes weren’t really that good AND they were heavy so I probably won’t be doing that again.  A few hours later I had an apple and for lunch I’m doing my green machine smoothie.  Definitely not feeling as good as I have over the last few days.  Damn you alcohol.  For dinner, I went to Whole Foods and got a bunch of greens, beans, grilled pineapple, etc and it was awesome.

Day #6 - Totally slacked again.  Last night, I went out to a bar in Arlington with some friends to support Tiffany Thompson’s acoustic show.  Fun time but I definitely had a few drinks and couldn’t resist the temptation for Wendy’s on the way home.  I got medium fries and a medium Frosty.  Things were going to smooth.  lol.  Ok, so getting back on track….this morning I made my Green Machine smoothie (put mangos in it) and took a bunch of vitamins.  Did the afternoon yoga and made gluten free pasta with homemade tomato/basil sauce with sliced avocado on top.  Good stuff.

Day #7 - Slacked again this morning and got pancakes and fruit at a diner.  I couldn’t resist.  In the grand scheme of things, I’m still going good.  Went for a ridiculous bike ride throughout Great Falls.  Pretty amazing.  For dinner, went to my sister’s place and had peas, potatoes, cauliflower, and some other veggies.  Stayed away from the ham/etc.  Also cheated and had one of my nephew’s homemade cupcakes.  Came home and found this amazing video posted below.  Totally explains everything that I’ve been feeling but couldn’t put to words.  Has so much great info in there!  I definitely recommend watching!

Day #8 - Did 6AM and had a smoothie for breakfast.  Feelin GOOD!   Whole foods salad bar for lunch w/ coconut water.  Green Smoothie for dinner.  Thinking clear, feelin good.

Day #9 - Had my Green Machine Smoothie for breakfast.  Had a “Power Veggie” sandwich and green lentil soup at an organic health food place.  Had a banana for a snack around 3pm and for dinner had the green smoothie and baked potatoes, onions, peppers.  Would’ve been soo good with eggs on top but I stayed away from the eggs.

Day #10 - Green Smoothie again for breakfast.  Did 12pm yoga.  Didn’t eat lunch.  Not even craving it.  My yoga practice has improved dramatically since eating healthy.  I’m not sure what it is but I’m rocking every class.  Feelin good in there, slimming down, focused, etc.  There’s gotta be something to it.  So far, I’m not hatin this diet AT ALL!  I’m definitely not craving foods like I was before.  I could’ve even gone w/o eating dinner last night cuz my body just feels healthy and satisfied but I had an avocado, banana, an orange, and some nuts.

Day #11 – Today I had a banana, smoothie and vitamins for breakfast.  Really starting to notice a difference.  Doing 12pm yoga again today.  Feelin like I need more greens so I’ll probably have a salad for lunch!

I highly recommend watching this video.  It has GREAT info all about the food industry, what our body REALLY needs to be healthy, etc, etc.  Soooo good and totally goes great with the overall theme of this blog.

I’m not the type to typically go off on rants but one question I do often ask myself is, “what the hell happened to hip-hop?”.  Sometimes I’ll be driving in my car, listening to the radio, and I zone out for a few minutes before realizing my mind went completely numb from listening to the worst possible hip-hop song ever.  As soon as I regain consciousness, I immediately ask, “WTF am I listening to?!”.  When did mainstream hip-hop go from MC’s like Rakim, Beastie Boys, Method Man, Q-Tip, KRS-One, etc….to the crap that’s out there now?  Is this what happens when we start to get old?  Am I like one of those older parents back in the 50′s who said, “who the hell is that Elvis guy?  That’s not real music like back in MY day!”.  Or, does hip-hop just seriously suck now?  Don’t get me wrong, there are still some keeping the true culture alive but half of the “gangsta” rappers out there who talk about shooting people have never even really shot anybody, and they probably have very nice Thanksgivings with their families.  They say it because it sells and they “think” people want to hear it.  Not only is the content wack but it’s as if they write their lyrics in 5 minutes with no real effort.  When did cleverness and style get thrown out the window and who or what is responsible for making it acceptable into mainstream music and how are these people the chart toppers making all the money?

The way I see it, it’s very similar to the Star Wars trilogy.  Basically, right now the evil Empire is in control.  The Empire meaning the industry, the labels, the executives, the bad rappers (aka the Storm Troopers), and the people who follow along because they feel individually powerless against the giant Empire (or maybe all they wanna do just shake their butt in da club so who cares).  The suits in New York, L.A., and probably the “Dirty South” too, are more interested in making money and controlling the empire of hip-hop music rather than keeping the natural balance of things and letting the force flow with originality and creativity.  These are the days of the Clone Wars.

When I was growing up and first started rapping (in the late 80’s), everybody said that hip-hop was just a fad.  They said it wasn’t real music and that it would be gone in a couple of years.  To the contrary, hip-hop is now everywhere.  It’s the way we talk, dress, dance, walk, act, etc.  You got grandmothers talking about their “bling”.  You got your dad telling your mom that she looks “bootylicious” in that new dress (and it’s a legit word in the dictionary).  At weddings, you got your Uncle Mike trying to teach you how to Dougie.   Hip-Hop is everywhere and so the “Empire” knows that equates to nothing but money in their pockets.  “The root of all evil is the dolla-dolla bill.” The Empire is full of executives who care more about bottom line profits than they do about skill, the art form, and the true essence of hip-hop which is all about creativity, style, cleverness, originality as well as empowering and inspiring the community….and obviously the stuff that makes you dance and have a good time too.  In all reality, I’m sure executives actually know hip-hop sucks now but they’re probably too afraid to take a stand and see if the GOOD artists who go against the grain would actually sell records.  Seems like the system is corrupt and controlled.  We all know that greed and fear is the path to the dark side.  Back in the day, the bar was set high (from the executives to the DJ’s / MC’s) because there was a purpose.  It was art and it was a movement.

I remember a time when an MC was like a Jedi Knight.  Few people could truly rhyme.  When I say rhyme, I mean everything that comes with being an MC.  It means telling a story.  It means using your word play, your rhyme schemes, your rhythmic patterns, your flow over the beat, your overall style and charisma, etc to tell a story and/or move the crowd.  Your lyrics were an extension of your soul and your creativity.  Now you have “ghost writers” (selling their soul), copy cats, half ass beats, and wack MC’s right in the thick of it all.  Back in the day, cats like that were booed off stage or generally just not given the time of day.  Now they’re in the top 10 on iTunes.  Back when hip-hop thrived, MC’s were breaking new ground every day and the world of hip-hop was wide open!  Even when NWA came out, it was still positive and creative.  They shocked people and “seemed” negative at first until it became clear that they were just telling the truth about what life was like in the streets and the message (for the most part) was moving society to a more positive place by exposing the truth through music.  “Express yourself!” So many tried to be an MC but few could genuinely do it well so the real MC’s stood out among the rest.  Now anybody with Garage Band on their MAC can be a rapper so we have to dig to find the real skill.

Now, so many true MC’s either don’t even bother making music anymore or they’re doing their thing underground (like Yoda when he went into exile and was forced to live on the Degobah System).  People would rather hear Lil Wayne than Boogie Down Productions, or listen to Waka Flacka than A Tribe Called Quest.  There are many talented MC’s still out there but they’re not reaching mainstream success because Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy are topping the charts and executives go with the “safer” bet by promoting the artists that are similar to the latest trend.  Right now the trend is “wack”.  Yes, we need party music and we need to let the guys in the hood rap their way from hell into heaven but we also need intelligent, creative, original, and positive/uplifting hip-hop too.  There has to be a balance. When you force feed the public one type of music, song, video, etc…it’s eventually accepted with no question and becomes the norm.  That’s an easy way to dumb down society and control it.  “FIGHT THE POWER!”

In my eyes, the rebellion is forming.  Hip-Hop (aka “The Force”) is not dead.  It is just under the oppression of the tyrannous Empire…. for now.  The Return of the MC (Jedi) is upon us.  Who will be the one to bring the natural balance back to the force?

May the Schwartz be with you.

Friends made me enter a rap contest on the radio with the Sports Junkies (popular D.C. morning radio show) back in 2002.  Since all I was doing at the time was getting up on the mic and freestyling with my roommate’s band (SEV) on the weekends….I was pretty sure that I’d get smoked in this contest.  I ended up winning, which was pretty awesome, but after they announced the winners….the Sports Junkies made me “battle” the runner up - Seezmics of Educated Consumers.  Seezmics aka Cole is an emcee who I really respect.  He’s a great freestyler and a deep/insightful rapper with an organic type of vibe who keeps the true essence of hiphop alive in a time when the genre is a bit watered down (in my opinion).

This is an audio clip of our battle.

My boy, Watson (the groom), rented out a $5 million mansion on the lake of Horseshoe Bay, TX (they live in Austin, TX).  This house was INCREDIBLE and belongs to the owner of the lake/resort.  The bride/groom had some of their closest friends from out-of-town stay in the house all weekend (each with their own room and personal bathroom) and then about 30 others showed up on wedding day via bus or car.  They wanted a short, sweet, and fun ceremony so that the day was more of a big party/celebration – which is exactly what happened.  I dressed up like a Rabbi because…well shit, why not??! lol Everybody said some nice words about Brian & Chelsea, they said their vows, they said “I do”, everybody hugged/kissed them, then we partied.  I can honestly say it was most genuine/sincere/fun wedding I’ve been to.  Everybody had an AMAZING time there and there were few dry eyes during the ceremony.  It was definitely a different and AWESOME way to throw a wedding!

Big CONGRATS to Brian & Chelsea and thanks for letting me be a part of something so awesome and special!

See a quick video of the weekend below. (Best viewed in HD).

I closed the first week of September and moved in shortly thereafter.  My Realtor is Karen Hawken and she’s been a top producer for Re/Max for over 25 years. She’s also the mother one of my best friends and I’ve known her for over 20 years.  She’s a total bad ass and was so on top of everything that she’s made the entire process a piece of cake so far. She was a pitbull.  If you live in VA and need a top notch realtor, let me know and I’ll give you her contact info. She’s awesome!

Here are some pics below that the previous owners took.  My furniture and set up is better so these don’t really do it justice.  :)

It’s definitely an amazing workout (especially when I practice every day), but it’s been soooo much more than just a workout.  It keeps me on a more extraordinary path of balance, health, love, positivity, trust, patience, compassion, humbleness, hard work, etc than when I don’t practice.  I have no clue how it works but I notice the difference like night and day now.  It often reminds me (and often teaches me) how to breathe, let things go, and stay focused on what is present.  I love that.

Yoga may seem like it’s “just stretching” or that it’s soft/weak but it’s alot like life…it’s all what you make of it.  I can slack off in class and then it’s just sweating in a hot room.  Or, I can really push myself and the results are incredible.  Bikram Yoga is definitely an ass kicker and it helps strengthen my body (and mind) and puts everything in proper alignment.  I used to be a runner and weight lifter and like most I know…our backs and our knees just get worse and worse as the years go on.  I’ve learned that yoga is the medicine for just about anything (mentally and physically) – even if you don’t need it.  It totally cleanses you and makes you stronger from the inside out.

Since re-discovering my practice, I’ve remembered another pretty rad thing about Yoga that I can’t quite explain.  It’s the synchronicity that happens all around your life – whether it be in your job, relationships, creativity, clarity of thinking, etc.  I’m guessing that by working with trust, patience, determination, love, mental toughness, etc….and cleansing yourself from the toxins you put into your body….you become aligned in a way that you project your inner peace outwardly through your personal energy field and it allows what you truly want in your life to appear.  I really can’t tell you how all of that can happen just by focusing your mind and stretching and being healthy…but shit is legit.  lol

Did I mention that it healed the herniated disk in my lower back?  Pretty sure I got that from running too much without stretching before or after, playing football and lifting weights with bad form, sitting behind a computer all day, and probably the wear & tear the Marine Corps had on my body.  I was about a week away from suggesting back surgery before I said, “screw it” and decided to give Yoga a try as a last resort.  Being the least flexible person on the planet at the time, I’m thankful for having the courage to give Yoga a try.  It was uncomfortable, a pain in the ass, HOT, I was sore, I was doing way too much laundry, it didn’t happen immediately, etc but I’ve learned that sometimes you have to face the storm head on and have faith if you want to come out through the other side.  Now I can’t imagine life without practicing Yoga.

Special thanks to the folks at Bikram Yoga-Tyson’s Corner.  Insel (owner) has built a pretty amazing studio about 2 blocks from my house.  It’s clean and always inviting with warm/smiling faces and great teachers to guide you along your way.  I highly recommend checking them out if you live in the area. www.bikramtysons.com.  Also, if you live in Fairfax, VA – a brand new studio just opened in Fairfax City (another awesome studio).  Check it out at www.bikramyogafairfax.com

Lean into the discomfort.